Private subsea cable operator FLAG announced that it has invested in the MIST and I-2SEA cable systems to add more routing options in and out of Mumbai.
FLAG said it has signed an agreement with Orient Lines (OLL), owner of the MIST (Myanmar/Malaysia India Singapore Transit) cable system, to add capacity between Mumbai and Singapore, which FLAG will make commercially available in October this year.
FLAG has also contracted with Lightstorm – one of the investors in the I-2SEA (India-Southeast Asia) cable system – to lease a fibre pair connecting Machilipatnam, Chennai and Singapore.
As part of that deal, FLAG said it’s investing in the terrestrial segments between Mumbai and Chennai, which will further strengthen its infrastructure footprint in India.
The MIST cable has been in operation since 2024. The I-2SEA cable is slated to be ready for service in 2029.
The MIST and I-2SEA investments build on its earlier investment in a fibre pair on the Echo Trans-Pacific system at the end of last year, as well as its launch of a new subsea route between Chennai and Singapore this past June.
FLAG CEO Paul Abfalter said the latest investments are all part of its previously announced Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to expand critical fibre infrastructure, increase capacity and provide customers with more resilient connectivity options across key international markets to support growing enterprise, cloud and AI-driven data traffic.
“We are focused on expanding our network reach and becoming the provider of choice for customers requiring long haul connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region,” Abfalter said in a statement. “Following on from the success of our existing India-Singapore India Asia Express investment, these new investments will provide four diverse paths to Mumbai.”
